Paper retainer for trays



June 22, 1937. c. E..PETERSON 2,084,409

PAPER RETAINER FOR TRAYS Filed March 19, 1956 INVENTOR 4244;; AT'I NEY.

Patented June 22, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAPER RETAINER FOR TRAYS Application March 19, 1936, Serial No. 69,629

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved paper retainer for holding stacks of paper in place against being blown away or against disarrangement in handling. The device is particularly adapted for correspondence trays such as are used on oflice desks. The retainer has an arm which is temporarily installed on the wall of a tray by means of a clip. The device is readily placed on or removed from a tray. The device is light in weight except that part that rests on the paper and it is cheaply made as it is easily assembled and is without rivets or screws thereby enabling the parts to be snapped together in assembly and these parts are held together by the resiliency of the material.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Figure 1 is a top view of my improved retainer. Figure 2 is a side view of the device shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section of the attaching end of the retainer and part of a correspondence tray.

The clip is made of three pieces, a long arm, a clip in which one end of the arm loosely swings and a Weight, usually a ball, on the free end of the arm.

The weight It] may be of any shape, smooth on the bottom, to allow a sheet of paper to be slid from under it. I prefer to make the weight in the form of a ball. The weight has a transverse bore Ill The arm is in the form of a wire frame that is elongated with side strands II, a cross arm 12 and inwardly turned free ends I3. The ends I3 are formed close together and are spread apart for insertion in the weight and when snapped into the bore I I hold the Weight inv place against accidental removal.

The cross arm I2 is loosely hinged to the clip. The clip is made of sheet metal and is relatively broad to give adequate holding surface on the wall of a tray. Such tray is shown at M with the wall I5 shown in Figure 3. The clip is formed into a top plate l6 having the open loop I! at one edge.

The clip is bent down from one edge of the plate l6 into an elongated return bend with the separate walls [8 and IS. The wall l9 terminates under the loop I! in the form, of an inwardly bent lip 20. The clip also includes a plate 2| extending downwardly from the loop I1 and lying normally in contact with or in close proximity to the wall l9 of the return bend. The plate 2| is provided at its end with an extension 22 divergent to the wall I9 and preferably extending below the end of the return bend and thus forming, in conjunction with the rounded end 23 of the return bend, a divergent mouth for easy installation on the wall I5 of the tray.

The device can be assembled by forcing the cross arm l2 between the plate 2i and the wall l9. The arm I2 is then loosely seated in the loop ll and is held in the loop by the lip 20 when the clip is free and held by the top of the Wall [5 when the clip is in place on the wall.

The retainer can be readily placed on a tray by simply forcing it on vertically and can be as easily removed.

I claim:

1. A paper retainer for trays comprising an oblong wire frame with the ends of the wire abutting at one end, a weight having a bore into which said ends project, and. a sheet metal trayattaching clip having a top plate with an open loop at one edge in which the other end of the frame is loosely fitted, the clip being bent at one end of the top plate to form a downwardly extending elongated return bend terminating beneath the loop in an inwardly extending lip, the clip extending from the open loop to form a plate in close proximity to the return bend.

2. A paper retainer for trays comprising an oblong wire frame with the ends of the wire abutting at one end, a weight having a bore into which said ends project, and a sheet metal trayattaching clip having a top plate with an open loop at one edge in which the other end of the frame is loosely fitted, the clip being bent at one end of the top plate to form a downwardly extending elongated return bend terminating beneath the loop in an inwardly extending lip, the clip extending from the open loopto form a plate in close proximity to the return bend, the plate being bent at its lower end to extend slightly below and divergent from the lower rounded end of the return bend.

CARL E. PETERSON. 

